Topic: Health

A color image of a genome. Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

College Completion and Your Genome (Don’t Get Too Excited)

It’s still early days in genetic research, though advances will aid study of educational attainment and, notably, disease

A sleeping baby wrapped in a white blanket wearing a black graduation cap with a red tasle Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

How Far Would You Go for an Ivy League Kid?

Study finds interest in screening embryos for education propensity, especially if everyone else is doing it

A side view of feet on a scale Research Brief / Health

Modest Financial Incentives Help with Weight Loss

Tying payments to weight, rather than behaviors, marginally more effective

A blue and white sign in front of a building that reads: FDA U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration Research Brief / Health Care

FDA’s Breakthrough Program: Faster Drug OKs Without Sacrificing Safety

Dedicated FDA staff guide companies during design of clinical trials

A refugee carrying a basket on their head walks through a tent encampment. Research Brief / Sustainability

Can Humanitarian Aid Turn Wastefulness to Sustainability?

Seeing global crises as ongoing, rather than episodic, and applying modern supply-chain management

Book Review / Happiness

A Method to Happiness: Tested in the Lab and in Life

Cassie Holmes’ book combines social science and personal history; jilted on the way to the altar

A pill bottle lies on its side with white pills spilling out Research Brief / Health Care

Public Disclosure of Drug Company Gifts: High-Prescribing Physicians Unaffected

The average doctor, following sunshine laws, writes fewer Rx’s for marketed medicines

Two staffers wearing face masks hand dishes to women in the senior living center Research Brief / COVID-19

More Staffers: More COVID-19 Exposures and More Nursing Home Deaths

Reliance on part-timers raises headcounts and dangers to patients

A hospital hallway full of mediical personnel and patients Research Brief / Health Care

Exhausted Doctors Less Likely to Prescribe Pain Meds

At the end of a night shift, empathy for patients’ hurting seems diminished

An itemized bill of hospital care with a pen and phone laid on top Research Brief / Health Care

Hospital Financial-Aid Programs Boost Use of Vital Health Care

Uninsured and insured both receive help; benefits are temporary

Image of yawning newborn baby in bassinet Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

Why the COVID-19 Baby Bust May Be Far Smaller Than Expected

Access to birth control among lower-income women was curtailed by pandemic’s lockdown

Research Brief / Technology

Can Algorithms Help Reduce Hospital Readmissions?

Measuring the utility of increased care and testing, inputs that aren’t always immediately available

Research Brief / COVID-19

Link Between Unvaccinated Staff and Nursing Home Deaths

Higher morbidity found where fewer staffers are vaccinated against COVID-19

Poster with text that reads, "colorectal cancer screening tests here" Research Brief / Nudges

Cancer-Screening Procrastination Can Be Deadly: a Nudge Lifts Compliance

At-home test for colorectal cancer delivered with a deadline

Research Question / Happiness

As Income Rises, Link Between Meaning and Happiness Weakens

Globally, lower-income people feel a stronger connection

Research Brief / COVID-19

The Dollar Store Fix for Vaccination Deserts

Pharmacies aren’t everywhere — adding dollar stores could reduce average distance to vaccination by 62%